#I mean as a fandom veteran I know that back in the day there were su fans who would 'ship' jaspis

[homestuckconfession]

alot of xefmek shippers ive met turned out to be groomers and alot of them would tell me to go kill myself after saying the abuse made me uncomfortable, so it is a ship i find to be extremely uncomfortable to even think about. alot of xefmek fans seem to get extremely defensive and aggressive when met with "your ship is toxic" cuz they dont want to believe its true.

but honestly what are you expecting? its abusive, you either own it or disown it. i dont understand why people are so insistent on saying a abusive ship is somehow ok. just admit you like abuse, or honest to god ask yourself why you care so badly about shipping something abusive.

.

[bokettochild]

Through The Keyhole, See Another Life

Inspired by the giant flannel I've been wearing for the last week and how happy it makes me. This popped into my head at work because of it so.... here you go!

Fandom: Linked Universe

Characters: Time, Legend Four

Words: 1,954

Rating: Gen

Summary: The Chain are visiting the ranch, and while most of the other boys are finishing their chores, Time stumbles across Four introducing Legend to one of his guilty pleasures.

"Four, no." 

Time glances up at the very firm voice echoing down the stairs. He’s not sure if the boys even know he’s come back to the main house yet, not with the guest room being on the backside of the house and unable to see the door and all. Usually, someone would have noticed the sound of the door opening, but all the other boys are outside with Malon, helping with the chores while their smithy and veteran rested inside. 

The battle in his world had been a hard one, and as much as fairies and potions can do, they seemingly can’t prevent Legend’s chronic pain or Four’s migraines, both of which had been worsening for days even before arriving at the ranch. Malon, naturally, had insisted that both boys be allowed to sleep in today, and given they’d still been curled up tight in bed, tense and stressed even while asleep, he’d been inclined to agree.  

It appears they’re awake now though, no doubt having found the breakfast laid just inside the door of their room for them, since no one had known if either would be willing to risk the stairs to find something while the rest of them were outside working. Still, he’d probably better check. He's been a bit worried about the two, and now that Malon has ordered him inside (he honestly wasn’t kicked that hard! The cows are just big!) he has plenty of time on his hands while the rest of his boys finish their assigned chores under his wife’s guidance. 

“Why on earth not?” The smithy’s voice is a bit higher as it trails down the stairs to where he’s shucking off his boots and stretching out his back, feeling every one of his years, even the ones that technically didn’t happen. 

Legend’s sigh is audible even through the floorboards, a soft groan probably accompanying a motion. “Because I don’t want to get in trouble?” 

There’s a part of time that wants to snort at the words; the two heroes sound like children arguing about pulling a prank on their parents, but then the fact that he and Malon would be said parents in that situation hits him and it’s not as funny. Additionally, these are teen heroes, the idea that Legend is wary about it means whatever Four wants to do is either very dumb, very silly, or very dangerous, and he’s not sure which is the worse scenario. 

He moves for the stairs, ears tuned closely to the door above, but feet quiet so they won’t hear him coming. 

“I do this all the time, it’s nice! Come on, you’d love it if you let yourself.” 

Okay then, less a worry, he pauses, listening. They’d probably resent that, but he’s curious now, and still a bit wary. He has to remind himself that Legend and Four are, in fact, two of the more level headed heroes- most of the time. At any rate, they’re usually pretty responsible, so even if he’s more used to Wild and Wind and (Hylia help him) Warriors, he really shouldn’t doubt them so much. 

“Yes,” the bed upstairs creaks, “but you’re you. I’m me. There’s a big difference in how they’d react to you doing this- heck, Twilight would probably think it’s cute from you, and Sky definitely would-” definitely not dangerous then, or risky, or likely to cause damage of any sort “-but it’d be a whole different story with me.” 

“You’re just scared to try.” Four taunts, headache clearly gone. 

The bed creaks, like someone’s flopped on it. “Four, I am in too much pain to sit through Twilight chewing me out for being an ‘asshole’ again.” There’s a tick in the vet’s voice, a small hitch on the offending title. Come to think of it, his pup does tend to call the vet that pretty frequently. 

Four doesn’t pause though, continuing his insistence on...whatever he’s insisting. “Then don’t touch Twilight’s things, he can’t be mad on someone else’s behalf.” 

“He is.” Legend clips back. “frequently.” 

Does his pup really chew the vet out that much? 

“Blame me,” the smithy suggests, off-handed.” 

The bed creaks again, a longer one, most likely as it’s resident shifts to face the smithy. He can imagine the deadpan tired stare and heavy sigh that likely touches their young vet’s face. “That’s the definition of an asshole move.” 

“Then let me say it was my fault.” 

“Again, you’re different. They‘d excuse it from you, but as a person with my own free will, they will blame me for-” 

“Oh stop being a stick-in-the-mud!” Four huffs, petulant almost. He must be in one of his more childish moods, no doubt Red’s fault. It happens from time to time when they’re in a safe place and the smithy isn’t constantly around the other heroes. He didn’t think Legend would be allowed to see it, but maybe he’s wrong about that, because the smithy’s voice definitely has picked up the mannerisms of his more emotional aspect. “Just take this and put it on!” 

Are they....is Four trying to get Legend to play dress up of some kind? 

“Is that Time’s?” It’s hesitant, guarded, wary.  

“He won’t mind, or notice either, I expect. He never does.” 

Is Four getting into his things without his knowing? Since when? Time’s feet start back up the stairs again, only to pause once more at the vet’s hesitant voice. 

“You sure he won’t crucify me or something?” 

Malon’s going to kill him. That’s the impression he’s giving these younger heroes? 

“Just do it,” Four huffs, “stop being a baby.” 

And of course, insulting Legend is no way to get him to make the smart decision, whatever it is they're on about. He sets up the stairs again, creeping to the door of the guest room once he's reached the second floor and peeking around the door frame. The door’s still shut, but it’s little trouble to turn the handle ever so slowly and push it open enough to see what’s going on inside. 

He’s not expecting what he sees. 

Four is standing in the middle of the room, Sky’s embroidered undershirt hanging off of him like a rather short dress as he stares at the vet who’s still sitting on the bed where Time had left both of them early this morning. The vet, in turn, has similarly shed his own sweaty clothes, which he can see tossed over a nearby chair, and the pink-haired teen is currently drowning in what he recognizes to be one of his own tunics. The collar isn’t laced yet, but the vet is currently yanking at it to stop it trying to slip off a shoulder, struggling though because the sleeves of the outfit seem to have utterly swallowed his hands. 

Four giggles. Red is definitely fronting, although the smile he sees on the smith’s face is more like Green’s. “Let me help.” 

  “It’s just the sleeves,” the other boy huffs, “I got it.” He doesn’t. 

Time finds himself stifling a chuckle as he watches the vet fumble and fuss, switching between trying to free his hands and trying to tighten the collar. Any worries that the two were up to anything nefarious have long since vanished, although his will to see what they’re doing hasn’t. 

They look like actual kids like this, Four decked out in stollen finery and Legend drowning in Time’s own clothes, much too big for him, to the point that with the next attempt to free his hands, long sleeves flap freely and loose in an effort of some sort (he can only presume) to make them fall down naturally. That effort though is quickly forgotten, the vet’s face loosening, softening somewhat, eyes wide as he pauses and then tentatively flaps the sleeves again. Four giggles, and Legend’s chuffing laughter follows it as he grins as his trapped hands and the excess fabric that shakes and snaps with his quick movements. 

“Welcome,” the smithy sounds, “to the wonders of over-sized clothes. You’re welcome.” 

“I hate you,” Legend sighs, but there's not a bit of actual malice in the words as he flops back against the pillows on the bed, seemingly having given up on trying to fit into Time’s clothes and instead accepting his fate. The boy’s face screws up a moment later in confusion though, and he lifts a hand to his face again with a frown, sniffing slightly at the shirt sleeve. 

Time desperately, desperately hopes that Four didn’t steal that from his travel bag or dirty laundry. Except, he must not have, because Legend’s face softens again, this time into a smile, and he curls up a bit, burying his face in the fabric with a little hum that is strangely out of place for the harsh veteran they all have come to know. More so though, is the way Legend rubs his face across the fabric, ears flapping. It’s strangely adorable. 

“Nice?” Four is definitely gloating. 

Legend’s face rises for a moment out of the sleeves, a whole different person than Time knows, bitter-sweet smile and flushed cheeks. “’t smells like home.” 

Something in his chest clenches violently. 

There’s no such reaction from the smith though, who just looks pleasantly surprised, but nods it off with a smile, moving a bit closer and settling on the bedside, careful not to stir it and earning a brief look of thanks from the vet who is, now that he looks, still a bit pale and carrying tension around his shoulders and eyes. “Really?” 

“Yeah” violet eyes fall down to stare at long sleeves, hand flapping slightly inside again, but not enough to do more than make the fabric shift and shuffle a bit. “Time must use the same aftershave as-” a pause, a twitch of the face into a frown. “It’s a familiar scent.” 

It’s also a new one. Malon had got it for him for their wedding anniversary last year. He forgets what she called it, but she loves it, so he does too. On the road, it hardly matters what he smells like, but it makes him think of her and, like the captain says, it’s good to do small things for yourself even when traveling and fighting and struggling. Life’s not much worth living if it’s all harsh and you deny yourself even the small joys accessible to you. For him, that joy is remembering how his wife beams and showers him with kisses once he’s fresh faced again, but in the room before him, it can also mean stealing your team-mates' too big clothes and curling up in them when you aren’t feeling your best. 

The smile that pulls across his face as Legend rolls over to face Four better, curled up tightly in himself as the smithy laughs about something, both looking peaceful, is also one of those things. 

For a moment, a precious, fleeting moment, he can almost forget the two boys in the bedroom across from his own are heroes who have to save the world. Instead, he can almost imagine them waking up there and joining farm chores every day. No pain brought on by whatever these two have faced would exist in such a world and instead they’d be free to run wild around the barnyard, racing to finish chores or pulling pranks and making mischief like boys their age should be doing. 

It’s a nice picture, and not even properly bitter-sweet, even though he knows it can’t be, because they're still there in front of him, peaceful and content and chattering quietly, one of his boys curled up in his shirt and the other in Sky’s, both discussing scents and colognes and what smells signal home. 

[twopoppies]

Hey Gina! Veterans say a TON of proof was lost due to deleted blogs/erased from the internet and I’ve already found out it’s true either through your blog or on my own but do you mind sharing the recollection of what some other things were (without the prime sources of course cos they’re lost)? Thank you xx

Hi love. I'm not quite sure what you mean by "some other things" because I don't know what you already found. But, off the top of my head, tons of proof about: "The Big Gay War" (Sony/Syco's battle to keep HL closeted vs HL's fighting back)

Babygate (we were able to save some masterposts, but lots of in-the-moment commentary/conversations and random posts were lost)

Gabi's entire blog was forcefully deleted, and we lost really detailed, easy-to-follow timelines and evidence of not only babygate, but also about HL as a couple. a lot is on the wayback machine, but it's nowhere near as complete or easy to navigate.

The Treatise (timeline/evidence of them as a couple--one of the easiest ways to introduce people to why "Larry" isn't an insane theory)

FreddieIsMyQueen's YouTube channel and all of her videos (we have them saved, but FIMQ was absolutely the larry gateway for a huge amount of people back in the day. If you watched 1D or Harry videos, FIMQ would be suggested and you were down the rabbit hole. Also, she just made some really fun, really touching videos and the fandom would get so excited every time she posted).

I can't think of specific "things" that were lost so much as tons of links to great posts that broke down theories or posts with great observations about closeting, queer signaling and queer coding, PR relationships etc. Just stuff that made it a lot easier to help people navigate the concept.

[sgiandubh]

Come ho già detto non ho copiato o memorizzato quelle foto viste le mie scarse attitudini tecniche. la foto estiva ricordo che era in un gruppo di foto insieme ad altre degli interpreti di Outlander, come se ne trovano anche adesso quando si cerca sotto S e C o C e T. In quei momenti non eravamo alla divisione del fandom come ora e il signor T non era ancora diventato famoso .La foto della festa durante la quale C era seduta sulle ginocchia del signore di cui ho parlato sono state messe in rete dai blogger molte volte , anche se non tutte, e credo che quelli di quel periodo possano ancora ritrovarle. Ho solo messo mano ai miei ricordi e ho voluto condividerli.Spero che ciò non provochi altri rumori . So che quando si dice qualcosa la prima parola è “provalo!” ed è giusto. Se ci saranno critiche lo capirò ma non mi faranno male perché la mia coscienza è tranquilla.Grazie, grazie davvero .

Dear @findanserwers,

Grazie per la tua risposta e grazie per il tuo coraggio!

Traduzione e dopo, reazione:

'Like I already said, I did not copy or save those pictures, on account of my very limited technical abilities. I remember the summer picture was included in a bigger batch, together with other photos of the OL cast, like the ones you can still find when you look for S and C or C and T. At that time, we didn't have these fandom wars, like nowadays, and Mr. T was not famous yet. The picture of the party when C was sitting on that gentleman's lap has been shared many times by bloggers and I think the more senior bloggers could still have it or find it. I was just revisiting my memories and I wanted to share. I hope I did not start even more rumors. I know that every time someone says something the first reaction is 'prove it!' and it's only fair. If this post will be criticized, I will understand, but I will not be hurt, because my conscience is clear. Thank you, truly thank you.'

I am now wondering if this mysterious summer pic is not one of the series taken for RDM's birthday party and if memory serves (and I can, of course, be awfully wrong and sure - always correct me, please), it was a whole flurry at the time about S being cut off some pictures. That would mean you have somehow seen a picture that was not very widely circulated. As for the lap pic, still no clue - but many pics of C with many other men (dr. Colbert comes to mind, too) are very affectionate, whereas with McIdiot - flat cardiogram and blink twice if you want us to rescue you.

Maybe one of the veterans could help? At the moment, I feel like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack and there is nothing more irritating for someone like me (granted, chronically curious - a detail that, remember, got me here, LOL).

I will never blame you for not finding those photos, by the way. I think it was incredibly brave to step out with your handle and own your thoughts and words: it is rare and for this, my dear, I do admire you! And I can only look back, with my historian glasses, this time, and think of all the tiny details that were forever lost with each and every deactivated or erased blog, all those comments and all those tidbits that once kept this community on tenterhooks every single day. Back when this place was lively, and fun and smiling and young and naïve.

A time I never knew. But a story I can relate to and understand maybe as well as our veterans, who lived through the sorrow and puzzlement and are still here, with us. And I feel incredibly honored to see you found this page to be a safe haven. It will always remain so, for all the shippers who will engage with me. You have my word.

Please don't be a stranger. Grazie, grazie mille e un abbraccio per te. Pace e Bene! 😘

[hellslayersomething]

thoughts on all the DA4 news this past week, from a tired old veteran who's been wandering the bloodied plains of the DA fandom since Origins' release:

I still don't believe that this game actually exists and won't until it's in my hand, in my PS5, I've clocked 50 hours, and I hit credits.

After the news came out that there were 7 companions, I told a friend I would need a solid 4/7 of them to be pre-existing characters in the canon. Harding, Neve, Lucanis, and Emmerich put it at exactly that number, so good show there.

The "Hero Shooter" character reveal trailer was a massive mistake. BioWare and the influencers they're paying had to spend the past two days doing frantic PR to convince people that the game doesn't actually look like that, it's not indicative of the game's tone, it definitely feels like Tevinter Nights and not Fortnite, and it's not a fee-to-pay live service game. They should have led with the gameplay video.

All of the people freaking out about Lucanis being labelled a "Mage Killer" just goes to show that DA discourse truly is a circle. (Also, read "The Wigmaker Job", it's so good.)

The dialogue suuuuucks. Wow, it's been a while since I've encountered a game that respects its audience's intelligence this little. [Earthquake] Harding: "The tremors are getting worse!" [demons show up] Neve: "And we've got demons!" Is BioWare expecting the core player base to consist of people who have never encountered media before? The extent to which the game over-exposits is quite actually mind boggling. I'm genuinely curious if there's anyone who watched this video who didn't come out of it feeling insulted by the game's lack of trust that you have basic cause-and-effect recognition skills. I know people like to bandy about "media literacy is dead", but surely it hasn't gotten so bad that players need to be told out loud "Watch out for lightning" when a boss shoots lightning at them. I'm hoping this was just included for the sake of the gameplay video, but several of these very bad lines seem pretty integral to what's happening on screen, so I guess we'll see.

The dialogue and voicing for the trash mobs is especially bad. I hate to say the word, but I truly think "cringe" is applicable here.

Nice FFXIV reference. (Listen, if this game is going to play follow-the-leader with any one other game, since apparently DA can't get away from that habit, FFXIV is the one I'd want them to chase. Certainly a better fit than Overwatch.)

The battle system seems fine. Reminds me of DA2's, which was perfectly cromulent. Sincerely, I don't expect deeply satisfying gameplay from DA, they've never delivered it before, no need to start now. Passable is fine.

Happy to see the DA2 dialogue wheel return too. Hope that means the invisible personality system comes along with it.

No rivalry system :( Again :(((((

Seriously though, the marketing for this game is a massive mess and their marketing lead should probably be out of the job. All of the news from this week has led to increased confusion about what the game is, what it's called, whether it is DA4 or not, whether it's a single player RPG or not, whether it's an effective franchise reboot or not--and they're all but shadow-dropping it (theoretically) after 10 full years of releasing no other Dragon Age games. This franchise has close to no momentum (many people considered it outright dead until this week), and now that they're ready to start actually talking about DA4, they've completely stumbled out of the gate and given themselves only 3-6 months to come up with a PR plan to correct for that. Embarrassing, frankly.

I guess that's it. The new gameplay video has returned my mood on DA4 from "absolutely the fuck not" after the character reveal video back to a resounding "I nothing this game", which is...actually maybe a worse place for me to be. The last time I went into game feeling a hollow nothing from the promotional materials, it was FFXVI, and we all know how that turned out for me. Anyway, in conclusion:

[across-violet-skies]

Febuwhump day 16: came back wrong

Whumpee: Wild

Whump Rating: 2/10

TWs: isolation/otherness

From the second he awoke in the Shrine of Resurrection, Link had felt… off.

Sure, maybe he had no memory of his time before waking up, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t tell something was weird. His body ached and his joints didn’t meet up quite right and his whole left side tingled and nipped at his very core. His throat was rough and every word he spoke felt like fire. But he didn’t have a choice but to keep going, because Zelda and the spirits of the Champions he had failed one hundred years ago needed him to finish the job.

So he did. Link took back the Divine Beasts and sealed away Calamity Ganon like he was supposed to, freeing the Champions’ spirits and rescuing Zelda from her endless battle. For the first time since he awoke, Link was able to rest and tend to himself the way he should’ve been doing all along.

And then the portal came and took it all away.

Link, now called Wild, was sent on a new adventure just days after finishing his first one. This time, he wasn’t alone– eight other reincarnations of the Hero’s Spirit joined him to take down whatever evil was plaguing their Hyrules. Still, Wild’s bones clacked and his muscles ached and his scar tissue felt like pins and needles.

He wasn’t sure what was wrong with him, because the rest of them seemed fine, more or less. Wild assumed it had something to do with his unnatural revival– like he had come back wrong, or at least fundamentally changed. It was shameful, knowing he was held back by pain while these other heroes, if they dealt with it too, acted like nothing was wrong. Maybe they couldn’t feel it the way he could. Maybe they were better at hiding their emotions. Maybe Wild was just… less of a hero than the rest of them.

Wild grimaced, pulling back the string of his bow. Today was a Bad Day. His elbows felt like they were on fire with each draw of the bow, burning and aching relentlessly as he pushed through it.

Twilight hummed, watching. “Your aim is a little off today,” he observed. “Why don’t you take a break?”

Wild lowered his bow with a huff, pinching it between his chest and arm to free up his hands. ‘I’m fine. No break,’ he signed, fingers trembling slightly. Hylia, even his hands were achy!

“Cub, take a break. It’s okay if you’re tired,” Twilight insisted, waving a hand. “Take a nap if you need.”

The Champion remained stubborn, shaking his head. ‘Not tired. Can continue.’

The rancher sighed. “Well, I’m taking a break. I think Legend is over by the fire too.”

Wild watched as Twilight sat down near the Veteran, both resting by the fire. Legend had been out all day, grouchy and grumbling as he smoothed creams and salves over his skin. The dark circles under his eyes spoke of sleeping problems (which Wild could relate to) and only served to make their grumpy Vet even grumpier.

Wild exhaled, putting his bow away as he gave in. Walking back to the fire felt more like retreating than he would’ve liked, but it was too late at this point. He sat in the dirt between Twilight and Legend, groaning at the way his joints protested every movement.

Legend eyed him critically, eyebrow raised. “What’s your problem?” He asked, squinting suspiciously.

‘What’s yours?’ Wild signed back, huffing.

“Forget it.” The Vet rolled his eyes, curling back in on himself.

“Cub,” Twilight started gently. “You’ve been acting off all day; is something going on?”

Wild hesitated, mentally debating. He lifted his hands, frowning as he signed slowly: ‘It’s a bad day.’

The rancher nodded. “How come?”

Wild scrunched up his nose. ‘Hurts. Aches. Joints.’

Legend raised his eyebrows, reaching for his bag. “You too, huh?” He commented, pulling out a jar of green paste. “This stuff’ll help.”

The jar was handed to the Champion, who sniffed it before scooping some out with his finger. The paste was smoothed over skin; elbows and knees and knuckles and anywhere else that hurt. Wild sighed with relief as his aches were soothed; fiery skin cooling down to low heat.

‘Thank you,’ he signed, passing the jar back to Legend. ‘You hurt too?’

The Veteran shrugged, shoving the paste back into his bag. “Yeah. It’s worse when it’s going to rain soon, so we’ll probably want to find shelter,” he replied. “Pretty shitty, but hey– at least I can predict the fucking weather.”

“I’m sorry,” Twilight murmured, sighing. “Both of you. That must suck.” He paused, frowning. “You know… it’s okay to say something if you don’t feel good. We can always take a break.”

Legend stared at the rancher for a moment, considering his words. “Hm. Maybe.” He shrugged, turning his gaze to the fire as it popped and crackled.

Wild hesitated, nodding. ‘I thought there was something wrong with me,’ he admitted, signing slowly. ‘I thought I came back wrong. Wake up in weird body.’ The Champion sighed, shrugging. ‘But I guess it’s not so weird?’

The Veteran snorted, nodding. “You are weird,” he replied, smirking. “But not because of the pain. You got some other things going on.” He rolled his wrist, gesturing in Wild’s general direction with a sly grin.

‘Ass,’ Wild signed, sticking his tongue out at Legend. ‘But thank you. For jar.’

The Vet shrugged. “Don’t worry about it,” he brushed off, shaking his head. “My roommate makes it, so it’s basically free.” Legend paused, humming. “Well, the price is putting up with him. But either way, it’s fine.”

“I’m glad you’re feeling better,” Twilight murmured to Wild. “Don’t feel like you have to push through it if you’re in pain. It’s okay to rest sometimes.” He paused, glancing between Wild and the Vet. “I’m serious– if either of you ever needs to stop, or rest, or anything, just say so. I’ll back you up.”

Legend nodded at the rancher as Wild signed. ‘Thank you.’

Twilight grinned, ruffling the Champion’s hair. “Of course. I care about you guys, y’know.”

Wild hummed quietly, leaning into Twilight with a soft sigh. The rancher beckoned Legend, who rolled his eyes but stood up anyway, moving to lean against Twilight’s other side. They rested like that for a while, just cuddled up together by the fire, until the time came for Wild to make dinner.

He decided on meat-stuffed pumpkins– Twilight’s favorite– and veggie rice balls– Legend’s favorite. It was Wild’s favorite way to show his gratitude, after all.

–> support me on ao3!

[quietasides]

Hi love, first I want to say you don't have to answer me with a long essay or something, but I just want and need your opinion on something since you have been here since 2013 which means you're a veteran larrie. Could you please answer in private :)

There aren't many larries from those days left and I completely understand why. The fandom is becoming a mess. I would just like your opinion on one subject/aspect of Larry.

I have been back and forth analyzing stuff before but mostly after 1D took their hiatus. Louis' and Harry's lyrics, behavior, and signaling and I just don't understand it anymore. The new influx of larries think L and H broke up multiple times and had other relationships, but I don't know anymore.

Something inside me tells me that isn't what happened, but with their lyrics and everything else (stunts), I feel like I'm in the minority. That's why I would like to ask you one question, you can simply answer with a yes or a no. I'd love it if you could share your ideas or elaborate more, but I know not many larries like and feel comfortable sharing their ideas anymore....so please do so, if you can.

Do you think Louis and Harry have taken breaks/broke up since 2010 (with taking breaks I mean L and H still have a relationship but taking time apart and breaking up is self-explanatory)? And do you think they have slept/been with other people since 2010?

Hello! Thanks for your ask. I don't have a problem stating my opinion publicly. Do I think Louis and Harry have taken breaks or broken up over the past thirteen years, and do I think they have had a monogamous relationship throughout that time?

I think it's absolutely 100% impossible for any one of us here on tumblr to claim we know what's going on with Louis or Harry, together or separately, never mind open-to-interpretation clues and lyrics and imagery. It seems to me that it was a strategic business decision to utilize "Larry" signaling, and it serves a dual purpose of both promoting interest and offering a sort of smokescreen for whatever sort of private lives Louis and Harry lead. I think they're very smart to keep ambiguity around the situation, because I think it allows them a lot of privacy.

I've lived for enough years to know that people grow and change, relationships evolve, partners stay, partners go, deeply committed relationships fail for all sorts of reasons and thrive for just as many—so, really, hell if I know what's gone on behind anyone's closed doors, much less a couple of artists I've never met! I haven't been active in fandom since 2019, when I entered graduate school to get my masters in counseling, so I can state with absolute confidence I have no idea what's going on with their relationships and that really any stance is JUST AS VALID.

It's totally fun to speculate and enjoy analyzing stuff, and it's fun to gather "proof" etc.

People in a successful relationship have determined between them what works for them. Any relationship has its own course and only the people involved know what goes on. Ethical non-monogamy is perfectly acceptable; it's open and honest and no lying is involved. With cheating, there's lying and concealment, which damage a relationship and make it unsustainable without a lot of work to regain health.

I have no idea what's gone on between Louis and Harry, and where things stand between them in 2024. I do know that when they met, in 2010, Harry at 16 and Louis at 18 were not even halfway through their adolescence, which the latest research shows doesn't end until our mid- to late-twenties. Now, almost 14 years later, they are both adult men with a fair amount of life behind them. They now know themselves in completely different ways than they did then, when they were just beginning the journey of growing up.

I hope for each of them, both of them, that they are enjoying living contented lives in just the manner they would like, that they feel healthy and loved and okay just as they are, together, separate, whatever.

I hope that you, dear ziamswitchcraft, enjoy speculating and interpreting symbols and choosing for yourself what you think is true, with the kind understanding that it could only ever be partially true, and could well be false.

[roslynwrites]

Hi there!

I found you from your beautiful, stunning, nothing short of perfect fic, Incendiary! Apologies if you don’t want new fans/ commenters (feel free to ignore this message if it’s a lot!)

But because reviews were turned off I just had to let you know how amazing the fic was - somehow! This is not an attempt to ask you about your next chapter status or anything like that but to really applaud you for the work you’ve given us for FREE. I think zutara fans in general have felt alienated by the community (esp when creators of the show have openly mocked us) so finding like minded people & quality fics are seriously one of the things that make me so happy.

My brain rot with Zutara died a few years again & then I started watching the live action … saw the infamous scarf scene and well spiraled right back in. Last time I was obsessed with the pairing, was before your fic. So when I stumbled over it this round I ate it up within 2 days … despite having to be up early haha. It was such a master piece even as I write this comment I’m in awe. I wanted to leave detailed reviews on each chapter but honestly the way you built the story, woven canon elements into it & structured the dialogue was breath taking. You brought back so many details and even though it’s canon divergent - everything made sense. It’s not one of those ‘it’s outrageous but for the sake of the fic whatever’, it actually worked WELL.

The characters would do those things had it been a more mature show, aged up, different circumstances. I love that. I also appreciated the lack of focus on kataang and having Katara be more than just a trophy - she felt so true to her essence. I’m not sure what I was even looking for scrolling absentmindedly thought Ao3 but finding your masterpiece was really not something I’d dream of. I did think loosely of a forced proximity, marriage trope for them and you executed in such a satisfying way. I can say that I am so so happy for coming across this. I think I’ve learned alot from the way you write as well. You did such a good job with some of the sequencing and ahhh just a true delight and joy to read.

All this to say I’m so very thankful for your contribution to zutara nation!! You gave the fandom such a priceless gift I know incendiary will be a fic I come back to often to reread and marvel. I hope everything is well with you🫶🏼

This ask made me tear up a little with happy tears; thank you so much for coming here to send this to me, you wonderful person <3

It's interesting you mention the alienation of the zutara fandom in relation to other parts of the fandom, it's actually something I ponder a lot. Fandom dynamics are so interesting in general to me, and every fandom is a little different. I am not a Zutara veteran by any means, I sauntered in quite late to the party and I don't really interact much with other parts of the fandom nor in any discourse, but even to reclusive old me I think it's fairly obvious that the creators deciding it was a great idea to essentially declare open season on personally insulting a large portion of the fandom based on fictional shipping tastes had a pretty large impact on how the atla fandom interacts lol.

Which is, of course, a shame, but cultivating fun, relaxing spaces is still thankfully possible, and I do think that the loud troublemakers (regardless of ship) are a small percentage of fandom; the chill people are usually just quieter and have to be actively found. I am sooo glad my fic could deliver some joy and feeling of like-mindedness for you :)

[uni-writes-things]

Prompt: Prompt #2 “I’ll call out your name but you won’t call back.” Thermometer | Delirium| “They don’t care about you”

Whumptober 2023! This is Day 1 mwahahahahaha! Prompts are in no particular order. Under the cut:

Guilt was the only feeling Legend could feel at the moment. He had gone and said something horrible because his emotions got the best of him. The vet had been mentally out of place, especially because today was his dead Uncle’s birthday. It doesn’t excuse what he said, and Warriors was making sure he knew that. Legend was standing, listening to the captain lecture and yell, and get angrier when he didn’t respond. But Legend’s throat felt dry and he didn’t want to risk saying something else that would upset anyone further. “Are you even listening?” Warriors growled, face twisted in a scowl.

Legend grumbled a yes, because had indeed been listening. Each word was practically imprinted in his brain. “Sometimes, I don’t know why Hylia chose you to be a hero. You’re an ass, and you have no tact.” Warriors continued, glowering down at the veteran, rage taking over his emotions.

“Shut up pretty boy. I get it, I’m a horrible person.” Legend snapped.

Warriors huffed, but decided to ignore the vet. The captain continued to chastise the veteran, Legend getting more agitated. The remorse the veteran felt was crushing Legend like he was just a bothersome insect. You know what, that’s exactly how he felt. A worthless piece of shit that was just a bother to everyone. Legend had just been a hindrance, a liability, bringing everyone down because he was in a bad mood. He was such an idiot to think these heroes would understand why he was so out of place today. He was an idiot to let his mouth open in the first place. Eventually the old man came and lightly placed a hand on Warriors shoulder, indicating it was time to stop. But Legend didn’t miss the glare Time shot him. Legend had fucked up. “Go take a walk vet, clear your mind.” Time ordered.

Legend nodded. None of them wanted him, so best take his leave. He walked away into the forest nearby and sat down on a patch of grass. Before he knew it, tears were sliding down his cheeks and he uncontrollably sobbed. The vet quickly forced it down, rubbing his eyes furiously. He had no right to cry. Legend gave a hysterical laugh and before he knew it, he was rolling on the ground, laughing. Oh, he was an utter wreck. No wonder Warriors thought he was mad. Something rustled in the bushes and the vet was able to stop his laughing and sit up. Dark walked out of the bushes, black blade glistening, and red eyes screaming danger. Legend reached for his blade but realized very quickly that nothing was there. He left his bags at camp. “Hero of Legend, I see your fellow heroes have left you here, all alone.” Dark spoke, tone menacing.

“You can talk?” Legend tilted his head, not wanting to touch on that.

“Yes, yes. Tell me Vet, why would such great heroes leave you out here, with no regard for your safety?” Dark questioned.

“I…I would just bring them down. I’m not….I’m not a hero anymore.” Legend stammered, throat going dry again.

“Is that so?” Dark hummed slyly moving behind the vet.

“…I think so. I mean I don’t blame Wa-“ Legend’s sentence stopped as he felt an excruciating amount of pain.

He looked down and saw Dark’s black sword through his chest. The veteran felt a freezing cold hand on his back as the sword was pulled back out of him. Legend couldn’t help the guttural shriek that rose from his throat, and in an instant there was the cold black hand covering his mouth as Dark rested the vet’s head on his shoulder. “Shhhhh little hero, there will be no more pain for you.” Dark promised.

Legend wanted to protest but his vision was slowly fading. “LEGEND!” Someone that sounded like Twilight screamed.

“Rest well Hero of Legend.” Dark whispered and fled, as Legend crumpled to the ground, head hitting the ground and knocking the vet out.

______________

Warriors was sitting back down at camp after Legend had stormed off. The vet had been a jerk and said something awful to Wind. “Captain, I know what the veteran said was horrible, but you were too harsh.” Time reprimanded.

“He just has no regard for what words decide to slip out of his mouth! I don’t think he even listened to a word I said.” Warriors huffed.

“It seems to me, like you were the one that had no regard for your own words.” Time deadpanned.

The captain took what the old man said into consideration, and then winced. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“This does not excuse what Legend said, but you need to learn to take control of your emotions.” Time demanded.

Warriors nodded. “Yeah, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize to me, I’m not the one who needs it. Later, you can have a talk with the veteran.” Time urged.

Warriors muttered an okay and sighed deeply. “Wars?” A small tug on his scarf brought him to see the sailor.

“Yes?” Warriors answered.

“I really am fine. I know Legend didn’t mean it, it’s just been a hard day for him.” Wind assured.

“How so?” Warriors wondered.

“It’s the day his Uncle died. His Uncle was his only parent growing up, so this day has been tough for him.” Wind informed the captain.

Oh fuck. That was why Legend had been off. “Oh.”

“Thanks anyway for standing up for me.” Wind murmured.

“I’d do it in a heartbeat.” Warriors smiled.

Abruptly the camp was disturbed by a shriek. “Was that…” Wild trailed off.

“Did Legend take his bags with him?” Time asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

“Nope they’re still here.” Four winced.

A few seconds later and everybody was ready to go find Ledge when Twilight ran in. “Help.”

Twilight was carrying Legend, they were both covered in blood, and the rancher looked like he was applying pressure to some wound. Legend was pale. “What the heck happened?!” Sky gawked.

“Dark was there, must’ve ambushed Legend.” Twilight panted carefully laying the veteran in Hyrule’s arms, still applying pressure to a gaping wound in the vet’s chest.

“Shit, I need a fairy.” Hyrule cursed through his teeth.

Warriors deciding to make himself useful grabbed a fairy bottle and let the fairy loose. Hyrule spoke something in chimes that the fairy seemed to understand and sprinkled its magic on the wound. Legend didn’t stir. “Fuck, I forgot that fairies don’t work. I’ll have to use my healing magic. Is there a town nearby?” Hyrule questioned, tone rising in panic.

“No, but there is a stable.” Wild bit his lip as he examined his slate.

“That’ll have to do. Lead the way champion.” Time declared.

Wild obliged and after they packed the camp up they set out. Twilight was holding the veteran, and Hyrule never strayed from the rancher’s side. A single tear was shed when Warriors glanced upon the face of the vet. Hardened in pain, from both physical and emotional pain. Now, Legend might not even make it to see another day. When Twilight was safe and no longer dying, it was a miracle. Warriors wasn’t sure if miracles could happen again. The captain was drenched in a feeling of overwhelming shame as they moved. “We’re here.” Wild announced after a little while.

“Hello Link good to see you again how may I-…” The stable-master trailed off seeing the horrible sight.

Nearby strangers gasped. “Please, all I need is a place to stay. Maybe preferably without an audience?” Wild winced.

“Of course. I’ll clear out the stables for you.” The stable-master nodded sagely.

“That’s doing a lot…here I’ll just pay you this.” Wild bit his lip and then handed a few hundred rupees.

The stable-master nodded sagely and successfully got everyone out as Twilight attentively laid the vet on a bed. The traveller almost instantly set himself up next to his predecessor and started his healing magic, after making sure no other stranger was looking. “Your people certainly like you Wild.” Four murmured.

“Huh? What makes you say that?” The cook raised his eyebrow slightly.

“Well, usually someone wouldn’t clear out their entire space because you asked them to. Especially if it’s a business space.” Four elaborated.

“Oh.” Wild hummed, staring at Hyrule and gripping his slate tightly.

They were all anxious at this point, filled to the brim with worry that their veteran hero wouldn’t last. Warriors was out of his mind with the crushing guilt. Of course his emotions had gotten the best of him, and he was about to be the cause of another Hylian’s death. Legend didn’t deserve the captain’s wrath even though the thing he said was pretty bad. Warriors took a shaky deep breath, forcing the damn tears in. He had to be strong, he was a a captain, a commander. “Champion how many of those potions do you have for Hyrule?” Warriors asked, voice coming out more raspy than he wanted.

“Probably enough. Lemme see…” Wild rummaged his slate.

A cold hand grabbed Warriors’ hands and he looked to see the sailor there. Wind proceeded to snuggle up to him, the poor kid. They all sat there in an uncomfortable silence, watching the traveller’s hands glow with magic and feeling the salty and soothing air emanating from the healing magic. Warriors was occupied with his own heavy burden, and likely everyone else just didn’t know what to say. Eventually though, Hyrule passed out an empty bottle beside him. Time sighed and wrapped a blanket around the traveller, being the good leader he is. “I’m just going to take a breath of fresh air.” Wild announced and quickly left the stables.

“So this is what it felt like with me?” Twilight put his hand on his head.

“Basically.” Time gave another huge sigh.

“It’s the feeling of knowing that your friend is suffering, and they might not even make it out alive. I know the traveller’s healing magic is potent, but…” Sky trailed off.

“But there’s always that possibility.” Warriors was surprised to hear the sailor make that statement.

“Let’s not focus on the what-ifs for now, Legend has enough sheer will to stubborn his way out of…not making it.” The captain tried to make some chuckles.

Silence was all he gained. “I’m gonna��go…check on the cook.” Twilight excused himself and ran outside.

Soon everybody was doing something, and only Warriors, Time and of course Hyrule and Legend remained. Things were like this way for a day, tense, and almost nobody spoke. Hyrule healed, slept, and eat. The rest of them took to helping the stable in a thanks to letting them stay in privacy like that. Warriors would end up often just staying with Hyrule and keeping him company, watching over the veteran when the traveller passed out. One particular evening when this occurred, Legend began talking in his sleep.

“N’ I’m s’rry. Pl’se, I know you guys d’nt care ‘bout m’. I d’nt wanna die.” The veteran whimpered.

The captain took a few minutes to comprehend that before gasping. “That’s not true Link.”

“Y-You h’te m” Legend accused, voice pained and hurt.

“No, I don’t hate you.” Warriors tried to reassure.

“D’nt leave m’ to die.” Legend panicked, eyes still squeezed shut in pain.

Suddenly the hoarder’s breathing became noticeably faster and faster. “Whoa there bud, it’s okay. Can you breathe for me?” Warriors flinched and went closer to the vet.

“I-I’m s’rry, p-pl’se d’nt leave me. I-I’m s’rry!” Legend cried out, tears leaking down the veteran hero’s cheeks.

Warriors had never seen Legend this…this vulnerable, this distraught. The veteran really believed that the heroes would leave him to die. But why? They all had shown—…oh…ohhhhh…shit. Warriors had caused this. Of course he did. His attention quickly turned back to the vet who was struggling to breathe and he grabbed Legend’s wrist. “Breathe. You need to breathe. Follow my breaths ‘kay?” Warriors began to take deep breaths, slow, breaths.

Legend must’ve subconsciously followed. Gradually, Warriors was able to get his breathing back to normal. “Why d’ you h’te m’?” Legend started.

“Shhhh, I don’t hate you. Nobody does.” Warriors gently moved Legend’s hair out of his face, eyes crestfallen.

Legend hiccuped and then went limp. Warriors’ eyes were shining with unshed tears as he shut his eyes. The profound guilt that ensued gnawed at him like he was nothing. Legend was downright convinced that the captain hated him. He was devastated. A tap on his shoulder led him to see the old man standing there. “Cap, you alright?” Time rasped.

“I’m fine. Just…the vet woke up.” Warriors sighed blinking back the urge to bawl.

“He did?! What happened?” Time’s eyes widened.

“H-He thinks we hate him, and we’re leaving him to die. He was delirious that’s for sure but I don’t think that comes outta nowhere Sprite.” Warriors informed the old man.

Time looked horrified. “But…we would never.”

“I know. The words I said to him…Time I can never forgive myself for what I’ve done. This is all my fault.” Warriors couldn’t stop the stupid tears that fell from his eyes.

“I’ve got you Link. He’ll be okay, and when he is, we can make sure he knows we don’t hate him.” Time wrapped his arms around Warriors, gently patting his back.

“Will he be okay though?” Warriors wondered.

“He better be.” Was Time’s response.

Warriors glanced at the sleeping veteran and checked for a pulse, wanting to make sure Legend was alive. He was alive thankfully. The captain had messed up before, and now it was his job to make sure the vet stays alive.

[shearlin]

Chapter 2: What is magical energy?

Word count: 5386

<< Previous || Next (tba)

It took me much longer than I anticipated, but it's here! :D I had to write the last two pages of this chapter down on a piece of paper to battle the writer block, lol.

One chapter left, hopefully it won't be this long this time, but who knows.

Enjoy! :D

The sun passed its zenith as they kept walking to an unknown destination. The chain rearranged itself a bit after the brief intermission in their talk. Time followed Hyrule to the back and Four took his place. Twilight was walking ahead, surveying the land, but still listening to the conversation happening behind him.

“As you may recall,” Legend began, “I mentioned at the beginning that magic and magical energy are two very different things even if in a day-to-day language they are both simply called ‘magic’.

“To recap, magical energy is the power and partially the intent behind magic. It fuels it and gives it the ability to actually affect things around you. Without putting any energy in the magic you speak, you would end up striking a very strange but ultimately harmless conversation in the language of spirits and gods.

“As to where does it come from? Well, magical energy is a consequence and an extension of a different force - life energy.

“Life energy - also called vitality, vigour, Farore’s Breath or simply Life - is a quantifiable force that allows living beings to stay alive. It’s usually defined as ‘the energy required for a soul to stay connected to the physical body’ by philosophers or ‘the energy required for living organisms to maintain their bodily functions’ by healers. If for any reason your vitality would dip below a certain threshold, you would die. Simple as that.

“Vitality is stored-” he paused, thinking about his phrasing, “located in? Concentrated?”

“Need a little help?” Sky chuckled.

“Words suddenly sound weird.” Legend responded with a scowl, trying to find the right description.

“If it helps,” their attention turned to Time, “When my magic was awakened for the first time, my friend and companion from back then sat me down to make sure I understood what it meant. She told me about magic and vitality. She said that the latter is a lot like blood, flowing through the body and keeping it healthy.”

“Yeah, that would be correct,” Legend confirmed and Hyrule was nodding in agreement as well, “Some people I met argued that blood is infused with life energy to the point of equating the two, which in my opinion is a step too far. I would say that some of your earlier theories were closer. The ones with invisible veins similar to the circulatory system.” He looked over to Wind who perked up in excitement. “Minus the tiny magic bugs living in them.”

“Killjoy,” the boy murmured.

The veteran laughed and ruffled his hair, earning an offended squawk from the kid.

“However, I think that discussing different planes of existence might be a bit too much for a lesson one so how about we skip that part.”

“Different what?” Sky looked at him confused, but true to his word, Legend pretended he didn’t hear anything and moved on with the lecture.

“The thing is, the bare minimum to stay alive is not how much energy your body usually has. Vigour is directly connected to health, the two impacting each other in a feedback loop - when one increases or lowers the other follows. If you are injured or ill, your vitality will take a toll because it is being spent on keeping you well and alive through whatever ails you. If something would increase your vigour by the means of healing magic, you would become healthier.

“But naturally, you can’t get healthier than healthy. You can’t unbreak your mended bones or cure a cured illness harder . There is a limit to how much life energy your body can hold at any given time. However, that doesn’t mean that upon hitting that limit living beings just stop acquiring it. We do that by the simple virtue of existing . It can’t be turned off. So what happens after your body can’t hold any more vitality?”

He paused and looked around, partially for a dramatic effect, partially to see if anyone would try and guess. His eyes landed on Hyrule, who was smiling.

“It needs another container,” Hyrule said, loud enough to be heard even by Twilight at the front.

“Exactly. And that container is your soul. And that … is what magical energy is.”

Read the rest on Ao3!

[beevean]

I'm getting really tired of Ian using the whole thing about the writing and characterization in the series being inconsistent throughout the years as an excuse. Yes, there has many wildly different interpretations and takes of the characters in the many different spin-offs in media that have been made throughout it's history. Imo it's why the franchise has remained so relevant and it's fandom so active to this day, because it's made the characters and series more accessible that way. Anywhere can be a jumping on point for people. But I really don't think people are asking too much for there to be some consistency or set of rules within a continuity that he and the others working on IDW have, or tried to have, established. Unlike with Archie, where they were literally making things up as they went along, they're supposed to be starting completely from scratch with IDW.

And it doesn't help with him doing writing work on a mainline game like Frontiers, because it's meant to take place in the same exact canon as the main games. Assuming he had something to do with it, I wouldn't have any problem with how the whole Eggdad thing was done(aside from it just feeling completely rushed) if it was in a completely different continuity that was it's own thing, as the character has had so many different portrayals throughout the franchise's history. But since this is meant to be the same Eggman from the games, I have to look at it through the lense of how he's been in the previous games up until that point- which I would say has actually been pretty damn consistent- and because of that, it feels so off-putting for him to suddenly soften up out of nowhere, when he normally would have immediately pushed the off button on Sage, or do a bit of "reprogramming", the second she started talking back.

It's a lazy copout, not befitting of Best Sonic Writer The Veteran, and it's not even true!

You know what, I'll just put this from the FAQ, which wasn't written for sport:

“Games!Sonic is inconsistent.”

Yes, different writers choose to emphasize different aspects of Sonic’s personality. In ShTH, he was overly giddy and excited, and even seemed to not notice Shadow being upset because he remembered his own death. In ‘06, he was overly stoic. In Colors, he gained the sudden quirk of taunting robots who couldn’t respond.

However, Sonic still has core traits that no game has changed: for example, Games!Sonic is always supportive towards his friends, and trusts them to know what they’re doing… something that isn’t always present in IDW. Games!Sonic remarked that Shadow saved the world once and thus he isn’t just a weapon in Battle; IDW!Sonic guilt-tripped him by reminding him that he tried to obliterate the planet once in #6. Games!Sonic listens to Tails, and he makes sure to apologize to him after the one time he has offended him in Lost World;  IDW!Sonic brushes Tails off and deflects blame when Tails confronts him about his decision to let Metal Sonic go in #50. Games!Sonic is fairly terse when it comes to himself, and only speaks for longer when he talks about the power of friendship; IDW!Sonic goes on whole speeches about his general modus operandi (granted, this is an issue with Flynn’s writing in general, who really seems to like writing many words).

Sonic is a simple character at his core, and as such, the traits that make his very being have always been respected. Sonic is friendly, kind although with a noticeable ego, he always always tries to save people in need even if he has no idea of what's going on, always sees the best in those people, but he's somewhat uncaring of villains, especially the ones who have crossed the line in his mind - he doesn't automatically go for the kill, but if he has to kill them, he'll do it. The fact that he's more of a chatterbox in Colors than he is in '06 doesn't mean that there is one game where Sonic has suddenly turned into a manipulative bastard, or somehow thinks that Eggman could ever reform.

The games. They're meant to be played. With care.

And of course, same with Eggman. Yes, the Eggman from '06 is a much more serious, less hammy version of the character, that is inconsistent. But throughout 31 years, Eggman never, ever displayed any positive quality that would suggest that he'd grow emotionally attached to a child, even one of his creation. This is why I hate the argument "well Bowser can be a dad and still be evil!" sure! Bowser. Not Eggman. They're not the same character. Anti-heroes who slash everyone in their way and still are heroic exist, but that doesn't mean that Sonic would be one of them!

Justifying it with "muh inconsistency" means you're not above the level of a 6 year old who makes up the rules of the game as they go along, because they really want to win.

[iwoszareba]

there is a prompt going around in wotr fandom to describe why your KC loves their chosen LI and I may not be a proper writer but I do love talking about Sosiel

- - -

"I will see you tomorrow, my dear."

Even now the way Sosiel looked at me with such tenderness was enough to make me smile. I kissed his cheek, bid him goodnight and already started to feel the lack of his presence beside me.

"Someone who is willing to go to the Abyss and back for you sure is a keeper." I returned to the room where my sister was still sipping her cup of rose petal tea. "Are you two planning anything serious?"

Innocent enough question but with the way Khadija's fox ears were slightly quivering I knew she was fishing for gossip. To combat such interest I put on a slightly confused expression.

"Not to my knowledge."

She tried to inspect my face for a while longer just to admit defeat with a sigh.

"Fine, keep your secrets. I'm just happy for you is all. You became so serious about things after your naming ceremony. I was worried you will finish your studies and upon return call for a matchmaker so they make sure you best serve the interests of the family or some such tripe."

I snickered at her tone and made myself comfortable at the opposite side of the table.

"Our brother and his match worked out fine. Are you doubting the wisdom of his choices?"

"I'm happy for him too! I'm sure he will make a great patriarch one day, such a steadfast and reliable guy he is." Even her compliments couldn't fully cover up the indignation. "But I also think that madly in love first, commitment second is the correct order of things."

"It's because you are a sappy romantic."

I instantly regretted my teasing as it was all the excuse she needed to continue her interrogation.

"Sure am! Yet somehow you were the one to catch yourself a cleric of Shelyn. How romantic is that? Tsk tsk. You need to explain yourself, young man."

I raised my open palms like I was just caught red handed.

"It's not like I planned to have feelings. It just happened."

She laughed and my cheeks grew hotter as I realised how silly what I just said must have sounded.

"I'm glad we established a baseline for how having emotions generally works, so how long it took you to get those pesky feelings?"

I hesitated. I knew the honest answer would get her riled up even more but I did not wish to lie about this either. She pushed the biscuit box across the table as a peace offering. I took a cookie and relented.

"The first time we spoke…"

"No!" She gasped and covered her mouth with one hand. "Love at first sight? That's the pinnacle of sappy romance!"

"It wasn't love. More like…" I tried to choose my words more carefully this time "...finding a kindred spirit in an unlikely place. An oasis after days of walking the desert. We were both far from home, doing something outside of our nature for the sake of our families. And what a sight the two of us must have made: young artist and young academic trying very hard to appear like we have any business being in the military among grizzled veterans. Funny how easy it is to make a strong connection when it means you feel less alone."

"I'm sure him being easy on the eyes helped too."

Khadija winked at me and raised her teacup in toast.

"What can we do other than appreciate beauty when we see it?" I conceded with a smile "But to be perfectly honest it was his ideals that intrigued me the most. He was so strongly aligned with protection. Dangerous position to take when you take active part in a war, the embodiment of destruction. I thought: alone this man will break. And I wished to be the counterpoint that makes sure he stays standing."

No teasing remark followed my words, to the contrary my sister seemed to be deep in thought for what felt like an unbearably long moment.

"You know how in books love at first sight is usually about appearances, but in the really good books it's about how you saw something in the other person even if you didn't fully understand it at the time? You experienced the latter."

I opened and closed my mouth, not quite sure how to respond to that.

"But you can't leave it there! What happened next? Lingering glances, candlelit dinners? There must have been at least one poem, if not I will have to tell your man that he is unworthy of being Shelyn's cleric!"

I chuckled, thankful for the subject change.

"There was a poem, he wrote it himself. It wasn't very good. I believe I still have it somewhere in my bag. The sentiment behind the words was genuinely quite touching. And he arranged an orchestra when he decided to pop the big question."

Thankfully Khadija already finished drinking so her surprise couldn't turn into a choking hazard.

"He proposed?"

"No. He simply asked if I want to be with him. On one knee! A little over the top but I admit it did make me feel special… Now he is embarrassed about how flowery his gestures were at the time."

"Why? Isn't that just par for the course with courtly romance?"

"Yes, but it's not truly about the actions themselves." I looked at my hands lying still on the surface of the table, slight discomfort always present in one of them "It's about the thoughts behind them. Stories we tell to ourselves. Watching him struggle with it made me understand this better in myself. You can try to mould yourself into a paragon of faith as much as you want but at the end of the day you are still just a person. And it wasn't that bad of a realisation because now we get to be us. Together."

[seamsterspell]

as a Levihan shipper (like me ), what do you think of eruri and its popularity in the west? and also why do you think levihan is better than eruri? ( yes i know i am bias .. i am so Levihan trash)

Hello hello!

Uh oh, I feel we are trotting into a dangerous zone here xD /j But okay, here goes nothing >:D

Just to be safe, I'm going to abbreviate Erwin & Levi as EL.

Well, first of all, I like almost every dynamic between characters in SNK. IMO Isayama did a great job of building connections in his story. So, I don't really have NOTP(s) in SNK. Even if I don't ship A, B, C, or D romantically, I can still appreciate the bonds between those characters.

Regarding EL, if you've read one of my fics, you would know that I like the veterans, especially the veteran trio (Erwin-Levi-Hange). I really enjoy the relationship between Erwin-Levi, Levi-Hange, and Erwin-Hange. To me, they are close comrades who have deep trust in each other.

At first, I was not so sure what to make up in the relationship between EL though. I found Erwin to be quite intense back then, so I didn't know how to read the dynamic between him and Levi. As a trainee, Erwin seems to be much more outspoken and passionate. But as an adult, Erwin becomes more reserved. Therefore, I used to think that this man must have been hiding something. Then, I finally understood it all when I read about Erwin's backstory (and apparently he was hiding his trauma and guilt, who would've thought!).

Anyway, in short, I like EL! I feel like their personalities complete each others and they have their fair share of both meaningful as well as comedic moments. What makes them interesting to me is that they are the kind of people that you would never thought would be friends, but well apparently they are. Some might argue that Erwin was only using Levi to reach his goal. But I disagree, even in a world where there are no titans around, I still believe they would become great friends who can rely on each other. So yeah, I can see the appeal of EL.

Hence, I can understand why they are so popular, both in Japan and the west (and internationally tbh). However, their popularity had never bothered me since I already knew that M/M ships tend to be much more popular in almost every fandom in existence. I mean I've shipped Levihan (and Aruani) since 2013 and oh boy we were like a small cheerleading club back then xD

To be quite honest, I don't think Levihan is better than EL. I mean sure, in my book they are the best HAHA but I tried to never really put any relationships in a hierarchy. To me, shipping characters are more about preferences anyway. Like, we tend to ship a pair with dynamics or tropes that we love.

I ship Levihan (and not other Levi's ships) because they embody many tropes & dynamics that I like, such as opposites attract (this feels like their trademark tbh). However, their main appeal to me is the way that their relationship feels so mature and healthy but also FUN. Despite their stark differences, they are able to trust and look after each other, not only in combat but also outside. You can see them fighting together in one chapter and then see them teasing each other in the next chapter.

I also like the fact that they don't always bound together. I like crumbs (and full meal) as much as next guy, but I actually appreciate that they have their own characters moments as well as relationships with other people. It highlights their personalities which make their dynamics—when they are together—much more interesting.

Not only that, before chapter 126, their relationship and moments were actually pretty subtle (the one where you kinda have to squint to see or blink-and-you-miss-it kinda thing). Which I LIKE SO VERY MUCH! I actually prefer subtle romantic-ish moments between characters over blatant romantic moments. I like ships with potential, ships that will give me enough (not too much and not too little) materials to daydream every day HAHA. I mean, out of all the ships that I like, Levihan is the ship that I have the most fanfic ideas. They are my go-to ship every time I need to distract myself lmao.

I feel like I want to say more but man, idk, I just like them I guess. I can't put my love for them into words T_T But to sum up my feelings about them: I WISH THEY WERE MY PARENTS

That's all anon! Thank you for the ask! I hope my answer makes sense to you xD

[stardustdiiving]

From the ship ask! What's a pairing most people seem to like in Genshin that you don't?

(ship asks prompt)

MAN OKAY I honestly could answer this with a good third of popular Genshin ships…but none of these are really solid dislikes, it’s just me feeling specific about how I like to see it executed & finding the way the fandom handles it is either unsatisfying, or generates an environment that kinda stresses me out NJDNCNC

To narrow it down to one I feel matches the question best I think I’m gonna go with Kokomi/Sara. It’s not really an active dislike or anything I promise I’m genuinely chilling. *insane person voice* but see I am just very stressed out with the in universe geo-politics happening in the background of this Genshin impact ship

I MEAN THAT IN A VERY SILLY WAY. but also I do have a genuine elaboration on what i mean which is like…how do I say this.

I really like Watasumi Island and find their existence + circumstances as a nation really interesting, especially regarding their dynamic with the Shogunate—it’s like the one part of inazuman politics that really catches my interest. But see the way I took the way the Shogunate + Watasumi dynamic was being written was specifically that Watasumi is/was suffering from colonization/imperialism at the hands of the Shogunate. I don’t see them as equal enemies on opposing sides of a conflict I’m just kind of like. Oh my god the Shogunate tries to control their primary food sources + military and after the war u see like, Gorou helping smuggle medicine and food supplies to treat their wounded war veterans bc the Shogunate is imposing high taxes on them they can’t afford to pay. The Raiden Shogun slaughtered their deity who was kind of backed into a corner on trying to secure vital resources for his people and to this day his corpse is just sitting on her territory getting ravaged and mined for weapons !! That’s crazy! I like thinking Abt that!

While I think Inazuma suffered from the writers dropping the ball with a lot of things I am generally happy this dynamic is explored/acknowledged repeatedly and Watasumi at least to me doesn’t feel like it’s constantly written in a really meanspirited and shitty way you know. Like, in the medicine supply smuggling thing i mentioned — that’s a route in Heizhou’s hangout that ends in a conclusion that something may have severely hurt the vitality of Watasumi’s land and it’s ability to provide, but that doesn’t mean they won’t survive or all hope is lost, because theres people within Watasumi who care and embody that hope and vitality within themselves and are working hard to build stability and provide for everyone. Like idk that’s really cool and I genuinely found it a really nice narrative that really makes me root for Watasumi

But then we get to Sara & Kokomi and ppl just do not talk about this dynamic between both nations at all from what I see, despite it being really relevant to the characters and in theory the appeal of the ship? And I jusurjfucn I guess it confuses me a lot bc I remember, most recently for example on the TCG event, I was so confused seeing everyone post about their interactions for days about how it was cute they were engaging in card matches together and Sara wanted to be friends…and then I played the event myself and we get this scene where Kokomi is standing off starring out at sea alone, and she talks about how she doesn’t like how she can’t see Watasumi from here, and how that was especially agonizing to experience during the war, and then gets caught up in her memories of the war and talks about how a lot of her people are still recovering from the trauma of it, and how she’s participating in this event bc she’s anxious about wanting to build good relations between the Shogunate and Watasumi so her nation doesn’t suffer more in the future AND IM JUST…MAN

Like I do think I can see Sara & Kokomi being friends, Sara’s character feels like it’s the concept of “individual with genuinely good morals working in an oppressive system doesnt stop the damage the system causes” kind of deal BUT IDK…I get fandom experiences can very anecdotal and I’m sure there are shippers who handle this aspect of the ship but when at large it just feels like it’s filed down to a vague enemies to lovers + contrasting aesthetic girlfriends ship I guess it def leans more towards being one I’m not really into. I think it doesn’t help it strikes the specific fandom pet peeve I have where I sometimes feel ppl water down a lot of wlw ships down to just being surface level cute and I am a lesbian who likes very nuanced and complicated character dynamic exploration so I’m personally just like. Yeah idk I guess this seems rlly widely accepted fanon wise but I don’t rlly click with it at all djjcnfj while I could be interested in this dynamic being explored, just if I were doing my own take on it ik adding romantic tones wouldnt feel super necessary to make it feel more interesting to me personally yk x__x

I just feel very excitable about a lot of genshin things and Watasumi vs Shogunate related things hits that mark of interest for me…definitely not implying the shippers r doing something wrong by making silly lighthearted posts and being less interested in types of analysis I enjoy but I guess that’s the most popular ship I feel the least interested in I can think of?

[chazz-anova]

Lost and Found

Fandom: Far Cry 5 Word Count: 2.4k Summary: Roman Ayson is one of Jacob's most competent Chosen, but is he up to the task in front of him? (raising a puppy) Warnings: Brief mention of animal death, implied abuse A/N: WOW i haven't written in such a a long time, but i couldn't get the idea of Roman finding his Judge out of my head!!! this is also the first time i've written for Ro so this one is special 💖💖

read it on ao3!

Grey clung to the clouds like smoke stains on the walls of a chain smoker’s apartment.The ground was damp, but Roman didn’t even recall it raining. It must have been three in the morning when Jacob awoke his preferred squads of Chosen; one of the evening kennel attendants hadn’t secured a Judge’s pen and it had escaped. Ro sighed as his boots squelched in the wet peat moss consuming the forest floor. ‘What’s one damn wolf when we have dozens?’ He thought groggily.

Jewel-toned sunlight peeked over the Whitetail Mountains as dawn approached. A rough calloused hand swiped sharply through brunet tufts of hair- Roman had wasted no time trying to look presentable before answering his commander’s call. The lean man was clad in mud caked boots, a red flannel over a white undershirt, and jeans that had seen better days.

When a hand on his shoulder brought him from his thoughts, Roman whipped around to see his colleague, Staci Pratt. Pratt was a new addition to the Church- he was a squirrely little guy with a mean streak. It was surprising to see him unglued from Jacob’s hip. “Fitting to send a pet to find a pet.” Ro chuckled, earning a glare from the other. 

“This one isn’t just a pet… she’s special.” Staci said pointedly, not responding to the jab. It was something he’d become accustomed to from Jacob’s men. 

“Hmph.” Rome shrugged dismissively, “Either way, sooner we find it the better.” 

Out of the two teams searching, their pair seemed to be having the shorter end of the stick. When sunlight was just beginning to filter through the forest canopy Roman’s radio sprung to life at his hip. “Ro, we found her… I think we’ll need some extra hands though. Meet us on the shore of Cedar Lake; just north of the McKinley Dam.” The other team’s alert sounded somber. Roman shared a pondering look with Staci, who’d been slinking behind him.

“Roger that, be there in ten. With the pup.” Ro responded, smirking at his dig while Pratt frowned. 

Almost ten minutes later on the dot, the pair coalesced with the rest of Jacob’s men. The scene was eerily quiet, three other men in drab colors gathered around something. The newcomers peered over their shoulders to see a large grey wolf in the center- dead in a pool of its own blood. 

Quickly, Roman saw the reason they’d requested help: a litter of wolf cubs were nuzzling into the mother’s sticky matted fur, their eyes closed as they whimpered quietly. Eden’s Gate recruited some of the most hardened individuals as their Chosen, but this sight was enough to shake them all. “She was pregnant?” Roman frowned as he slowly stepped forward. 

One of the other men shook their head ruefully, “That scientist said it wasn’t possible for them to breed, that once they got the treatment it sterilized them…” 

“It was impossible. Things change.” Staci commented, looking on with dull eyes. “We’d best get the pups back, let Jacob know what happened.” As he issued their next steps, the other men eyed him hesitantly. Breeding the Judges was news to all of them except one, apparently. The deputy pushed forward and grabbed one of the cubs- his hand staining red with wolf blood as he cradled one and then grabbed another. Each man followed his lead and soon they were leaving behind the corpse of the mother wolf; all while the babies cried for milk that was never going to come. 

Back at St. Francis Veterans Center the group found Jacob in the main office. It was decorated to his taste, which is to say the decor was minimal. The eldest Seed had taken over what must have been the director’s office before Eden’s Gate requisitioned the Center and hadn’t changed much. On the walls hung the merits he’d earned serving under the 82nd Airborne Division; a small framed photo of Jacob and his brothers was presented next to the medals. The man didn’t turn around as Roman, Staci, and the other three men entered the room but he rolled his shoulders and perked up as the door opened. “What happened to the wolf?” His tone was matter-of-fact, only wanting the particulars. No emotion. 

Staci immediately went to Jacob’s side- shoulders hunched as if he subconsciously needed to make himself smaller in the Seed’s presence. When no one immediately spoke up Roman found himself the de facto spokesman of the group; clearing his throat he responded “It… she had pups. Didn’t survive giving birth. We have all of them down at the kennel.” His voice mimicked Jacob’s unspoken request: present only the facts. While Ro spoke the other men stepped back, in a line behind him as he elucidated. 

Jacob turned finally- quiet for a moment before glancing at the men behind Roman. “Leave.” The other Chosen gave curt nods before turning on their heels, no doubt relieved none of them would have to be alone to report to their leader. The office door was creaking to a close as Staci made no move. ‘Presumptuous.’ Rome thought as he watched Jacob shoot him a hard look and nod towards the exit. Staci bowed his head, hustling himself out immediately. When Jacob said jump, everyone’s boots left the ground. 

Once the two men were alone Jacob regarded Roman for a few moments silently. The Chosen cleared his throat and resisted the urge to squirm under the soldier’s gaze. Not many people made him feel self-conscious, but he knew he was far from the perfect killing machine Jacob was trying to conjure from his men. Strength was not something Ro lacked; however he had many sins and vices he was still atoning for that marred him both mentally and physically. A shiver ran through Roman as he recalled his time in John’s bunker, being cleansed to become the Chosen he was today. 

“At ease Ayson… you did good today.” Jacob spoke finally, coming around the desk while rolling his sleeves up over scarred skin. “I’ve been keeping an eye on you, on your work. Seems like you aren’t afraid to get your hands dirty.” This sentence triggered flashes in his mind of his work. Blood on his hands, bodies on the floor, bullet shells clattering at his feet. 

“Thank you, sir.” 

Jacob smiled crookedly as he approached and put a hand on Rome’s shoulder. “My point, Roman, is that you are ruthless. Just like a good soldier should be. Doing what you need to do to be strong, intolerant of weakness.” Praise wasn’t something Roman was used to receiving even though he craved it. This praise fell deep down into the bottomless hole within him before he could snatch any validation from its clutches. 

Hand falling, Jacob shook his head, “Nothing like that Alistar, I never should have given him the last shift of the night; he’s incompetent.”  Lamenting the mistake of the kennel attendant, there was a twinkle in his eye. No doubt Alistar paid for his transgression. “But maybe, this accident gives us a chance to try something new.” He continued. 

Watching his commander Roman nodded slowly, unsure where he was going with this. 

“That wolf was supposed to give birth with the vet on call, not out in the woods where anything could go wrong. We needed her to watch the young, show them how to act. Grow them into the perfect Judges.” Jacob was the kind of man who talked with his movements as well, his hands in front of him gesturing with each point. “Now we don’t have that, and their sire is too aggressive to raise them. We need someone to show these pups how to be part of our platoon… and now that’s you.” 

Roman’s eyes widened in surprise; out of anything he’d thought would come next- this wasn’t one of them. He knew better than to object though. Jacob must have seen the look on his face because he chuckled. 

“Not all of them of course, nothing you couldn’t handle. Go down to the kennel, grab one of them, take care of them. You’ve had a dog before right?” He questioned, not really caring for the answer. Ro knew he didn’t have a choice. 

Another clearing of his throat he responded, “Once.” 

“Then you know the basics- feed it, water it, take it outside. Only one extra objective- it’s not gonna be a pet. It’s gonna be a killer. I know you’ll make it good at that.” 

There was only a beat of silence before Roman nodded, “Understood… I’ll go down there now.” He was careful to keep his tone neutral despite his distaste for this particular assignment. With Jacob’s approval- he was off.

Behind St. Francis was the extensive training grounds and kennels; Roman watched as men and women ran through their required trials weaving their way up the mountains above. There were endurance courses, combat courses, anything you could think of to get a soldier ready for battle. The fabled Collapse was likely years away and the Church of Eden’s Gate was still a relatively small organization, but they were to be feared. 

The kennels were a maze of chain link- every turn identical and filled with runs for the Judges to be kept in. As soon as he’d come outside, Roman heard the mournful howl of a wolf lamenting the loss of its mate. The sound chilled his skin and vibrated his bones with sorrow that was soul deep. Right where he and his men had left them, he found the litter all together in a cage. One of the attendants had cleaned them of their mother’s blood and they wriggled around crawling over one another and sniveling. ‘They don’t even know what they’ve lost.’ Roman thought, a frown creasing his features. 

Unstoppable memories trickled through the dam holding back the worst things, and the best things he couldn’t allow himself to recall. He remembered his mother: her kind eyes and soft smile. His next memory was her face bruised and battered. The visceral image made Ro shake his head and take a deep breath. He really needed a drink. 

Roman steeled himself as he observed the animals before him. Many of them took after their mother- but there was one that seemed to favor its father. The runt had short stocky legs and a grey-brown coat, his eyes were screwed shut; unready to see the horrors of the place he’d been thrust into. The little one mewled out small whines and whimpers begging for some sort of comfort and without a second though Roman swept this one into his arms. 

In two weeks the pup was walking and growing like a weed; all the while dread built in Roman as he thought of turning this carefree cub into a weapon. Despite its parents, the wolfling seemed to not have any of the more aggressive traits Jacob and Joseph had been hoping for when breeding a Judge. The horror of this act had held him from even naming the beast. 

The two were in Ro’s bedroom within the Center at the end of the night. It had been a long day of scouting more land in the Whitetails and the Chosen was exhausted. He strode into the room ragged and dirty, but satisfied with what he’d accomplished today. High in the mountains west of the Moccasin river his squad had found an abandoned military radar station, a great place to keep an eye on all of Hope County and establish their footprint even more. While he was out, his Judge stayed in the kennels with its brethren. Upon picking him up, the afternoon attendant chuckled as she handed the cub over, “He missed you.. he cried almost the whole time you were gone!” 

“He was probably just hungry or something.” Roman deflected automatically. 

Back in his room as the brunet flopped onto his bed without even taking his shoes off, he heard a whine from the floor. 

Brow creased, Rome lolled his head to the side to see what was wrong. At the edge of the bed- the wolf looked up with bright yellow eyes that had just recently opened to see the world. His head was leaned on the frame of the bed as he stared at Roman and emitted another whine. “What?” The man asked with a thread of exasperation in his voice. He felt like he was on eggshells with the animal below him, trying to hold it at a distance emotionally but bonding despite his pessimism. When he spoke the wolf cocked his head to the side- regarding him curiously as though asking ‘What?’ right back. Roman’s mouth was a thin line as he turned his gaze back to the ceiling of his room. 

Another whine. This one intoned with the impatience of a puppy not getting its way. 

Roman rose and turned fully to look down at the little wolf. “What do you want, you want to get up here or something?” He questioned reluctantly. In response the wolfling put his big front feet up as far as he could- jumping a little and letting out a demanding yelp. Ro couldn’t help a long sigh as he paused. To see something wanting to be with him, to see something that maybe saw something more in him than a hardened warrior, to see an innocent thing he was meant to desecrate and sacralize at the same time; he didn’t know how to reconcile what he felt when he looked at this little puppy.

Tenderly, Rome put his hands under the pup and lifted him up onto the bed. On the softer surface the cub wobbled unevenly before flopping down against Roman’s side. He couldn’t help but smile a bit as the wolf nuzzled into his side and buried its head into his flannel. It took him a couple wiggles, but the puppy finally found the perfect position to cuddle in and close his eyes. 

Against his better judgment the Chosen traced a couple fingers through the soft fur on the nape of his neck. “You need a name don’t you…” Roman murmured. He looked at the little creature in his arms, admiring his brown coat and the almost translucent grey fuzz springing through every other hair. “How about… Ranger?” He pet the wolf’s flank and those big yellow eyes looked up to meet his as he said the prospective name. 

“Ranger it is.” Roman smiled at the pleasing alliteration with his own name. 

They sat there in silence for a few moments and soon little snores drifted from Ranger, who had an equally long day wrestling with his siblings no doubt. Rome continued petting his companion as he leaned down to the pup’s ear to whisper, “This world is scary and big, but just know I will never let anything hurt you.” He placed a kiss on the cubs head, “I promise.” 

[hazzabeeforlou]

Hi love, first I want to say you don't have to answer me with a long essay or something, but I just want and need your opinion on something since you have been here for a while I think which means you're a veteran larrie. Could you please answer in private :)

There aren't many larries from those days left and I completely understand why. The fandom is becoming a mess. I would just like your opinion on one subject/aspect of Larry.

I have been back and forth analyzing stuff before but mostly after 1D took their hiatus. Louis' and Harry's lyrics, behavior, and signaling and I just don't understand it anymore. The new influx of larries think L and H broke up multiple times and had other relationships, but I don't know anymore.

Something inside me tells me that isn't what happened, but with their lyrics and everything else (stunts), I feel like I'm in the minority. That's why I would like to ask you one question, you can simply answer with a yes or a no. I'd love it if you could share your ideas or elaborate more, but I know not many larries like and feel comfortable sharing their ideas anymore….so please do so, if you can.

Do you think Louis and Harry have taken breaks/broke up since 2010 (with taking breaks I mean L and H still have a relationship but taking time apart and breaking up is self-explanatory)? And do you think they have slept/been with other people since 2010?

Hi there! I don’t mind answering here. To be massively honest with you? Yes I’ve been here since EARLY 2017, and yes I’m still a larrie, whatever the fuck that means now, but I just…. Don’t really care about proving anything anymore. And I have seen both their closets solidify in ways that signal to me that this is a career long choice for them. Their music has moved beyond the personal and into the abstract/creative sphere now and I don’t find it helpful in analysis of their personal lives anymore than studying a late Bach oratorio would show me how much he loved or didn’t love his wife. Yk? If they’ve had experiences outside of being together, I don’t think it’s something that they resent for the other person. I find it hard to believe either of them were virgins when they met, or never took breaks, just because I know almost no couples in my life who I could say that about. I know like two people who were each others firsts and still married (and DIDNT come from a religious cult). So. But again I don’t really super care… I find their origin story cute and adorable enough pad the lack of info we have now, and honestly I think they like it that way, and that it’s best all around.